Google is bringing Android’s camera features to iOS

Google has just added a great new app for iOS users to download that will let you take cool panoramic 360-degree photos and even post them on Google Maps to boot. The new Photo Sphere Camera app gives iPhone users the same cool panoramic video feature that Google first brought to Android phones back in 2012. Basically, Photo Sphere is a fancy camera feature that lets you take panorama images by picking a central starting point and then filling things out by snapping additional pictures around your central image. Google brought it to Android users starting with Android 4.4.2 Jelly Bean and it’s finally decided to bring it to iOS all this time later.

Google has just launched a new photo application for iOS users called Photo Sphere Camera, which allows you to take 360-degree photos, then publish them to Google Maps or other social networks. The app is an expansion of a feature that was previously available via Google’s Android operating system, and shipped on the Nexus-branded smartphones. Now available on iOS, the new app lets you stand in one place, pointing the viewfinder at a dot on the screen then tilt and move the phone until you’ve captured the scenery around you. 360 images are not exactly a new idea for smartphones. iOS offers its own “Pano” mode and third-party apps like Sphere, 360 Panorama and the nifty hands-free Cycloramic have offered similar functionality for some time. But what makes Google’s Photo Spheres different is that they let you look not just left and right, but also up and down – like you can with Google Street View, for example. That makes them a more immersive experience, and lets you feel like you’re really seeing the view captured, like a beach, mountains, cityscape and more.